Former WWE star Cody Rhodes recently spoke to si.com where he discussed a lot of things. He revealed that he will now settle down after travelling the world for a year. Below are some highlights;
“I’m about to make a decision,” admitted Rhodes, who has broken the alleged structure of the business by engaging in feuds with Moose in Impact Wrestling while simultaneously engaging in programs with Jay Lethal in Ring of Honour while still a part of New Japan’s vaunted Bullet Club. “It’s been really fun to cross all the streams, but at this point, I do need to find a new home. That is going to limit all the distance I cover, which includes the work I’ve done with companies like Limitless, Defy, and All Pro Wrestling – there is even a company in Kolkoska, Michigan where I’m wrestling that is called ‘Mr. Chainsaw’. If you see my name on a card and you’re a fan, come on out. I’m not sure how much longer it will be until I’m no longer able to roam around.”
“I’ve known the Gallows family a long time,” said Rhodes. “Luke Gallows is now entirely focused with WWE, but he built WrestleMerica, which was very much a Southern-based independent. We used to always joke, because so many of the guys who worked for my dad’s independent promotion would often give Gallows a hard time when they’d say, repeatedly, ‘This isn’t how Dusty ran it.’
“Gallows said that annoyed him endlessly. He said to me, ‘If you come to Barnesville one time so you can have my back, we’ll see if these people were even in Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling.’ That was my dad’s backyard, so it’s pretty special to come back home.”
“I always tried to stand out as a ref,” said Rhodes. “I wore a long sleeve black Under Armour t-shirt so that you knew I was the cool ref as opposed to the old dude.
“I was also never allowed to referee any of my father’s matches. My dad had a habit of giving me the Abdullah the Butcher matches, as well as the ones with tables and chairs – basically, the matches that went all over the building. I was so terrified of Abdullah the Butcher, and I reffed one of his matches where the culmination of the match was Abdullah fighting his opponent into the ring truck, and Abdullah slamming the doors and then being the only one to emerge. I just remember raising his hand. No actual words were exchanged between us, ever.
“That was his way of making me pay my dues, and maybe even rib me. My father didn’t smarten me up, ever, so I smartened myself up. It was a good learning experience.”
Gallows enlisted Rhodes to recruit the talent, and he delivered with an array of burgeoning stars in Havoc, Bobby Fish, the Tempura Boys, and Donovan Dijak. Rhodes did admit, however, that he does not have quite the same smooth touch that his father made appear so easy.
“I don’t have the same knack for the business end that my old man did,” said Rhodes. “Recruiting people has been tough. I don’t envy anyone in that spot, especially some of the great non-WWE promoters like EVOLVE’s Gabe Sapolsky, Beyond Wrestling’s Drew Cordeiro, or Markus Mac at All Pro Wrestling. This may have been my only foray into behind-the-scenes work, ever. I think I’ll stay out in the forefront.”